NASCAR Comments on North Carolina's Transgender Law

Count NASCAR chairman Brian France among those opposing North Carolina's House Bill 2, which has become a point of controversy after Republican legislators in the state passed the law.

Specifically, the law "bars people in North Carolina from using bathrooms that do not match their birth gender and goes further to prohibit municipalities from creating their own antidiscrimination policies," according to the New York Times' Dave Philipps.

Speaking at an Associated Press sports editors meeting earlier this week, France made it clear NASCAR does not condone the legislation that has largely been viewed as discriminatory against the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community, per Motorsport.com's Jim Utter:

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I do and we did in Indiana when similar discrimination which were more religious occurred. We take the position that any discrimination, unintended or not, we do not like that and we are working behind the scenes, and we are not a political institution. We don't set agendas or write laws but we express our values to policy makers. We will and we do. We are real clear about that.

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While France did not comment on potentially moving any races from the state or Charlotte Motor Speedway, he joined NBA Commissioner Adam Silver as high-profile sports figures who have condemned the state's recent legislative decisions.

"We've been working very closely with the business community down there and the governor and the legislature to make it clear that it would be problematic for us to move forward with our All-Star Game if there is not a change in the law," Silver said regarding the 2017 All-Star Game, which Charlotte is set to host Feb. 17, during a recent appearance on Mike & Mike, per ESPN.com.

In March, the NFL took a similar stance when it released a statement opposing Georgia's "religious liberty" bill and warned that the law could deprive Atlanta of the chance to host a Super Bowl in the future if enacted.